Vibes That Lead
by AlannaTorres
Summary: Why Hanajima goes to the graveyard during that last episode. Just a little drabble.


Vibes That Lead

By: AlannaTorres

Rating: PG

Author's Note: I found this on my computer and thought I'd post it. This is my first Fruits Basket story from Hanajima's POV. It deals with the last scene in episode 26, so if you haven't seen the last episodes, you probably won't get it.

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is owned by Natsuki Takaya and Hakusensha-TV, I'm just playing around with the characters for no personal gain whatsoever.

Blazing red eyes gaze at me through a thick fog. There is no body attached, but I can sense it, waiting; poised. Fangs appear out of the darkness, dripping with saliva. My heart quickens-what was this? I sense that I know it; I sense that I can understand if I give it some thought…

A scream in the distance. A scream that is recognized, that is a part of my life…

"Tohru!"

My bedroom is dark-I must have fallen asleep while studying. The clock on the nightstand reads 1:56. These things I notice but don't honestly take into consideration. Something is wrong with Tohru and I need to help her.

Tossing aside my workbooks, I run to the phone downstairs and dial Uo's number. She answers on the second ring-I can hear the television in the background. "Hello?"

"Meet me at the graveyard."

"What? Why?"

"Please, Uo, it's urgent." I hang up, grab my umbrella and cloak from the front closet and step out into the rain. Dark clouds blot out the moon and stars, but I can feel them shining through, leading me to where I have to go.

Around me, the air is electrified, tense. I hurry through the streets to the train station, and buy myself a ticket to the station near the graveyard-a five-minute train ride this time of night. There are a few people on the train, all of them give me funny looks. I sense that they are looking at me, wondering why I scare them. I don't mean to-when I am worried or upset, the shocks that surround me are intensified to the point where people can feel a shock, like static electricity.

On the train, I think about Tohru. Why had she been screaming in my vision? Something has happened to her…

I know Uo is waiting for me before I even step off the train. She's on the platform, and frowns at me when I step off. I hurry past her, ignoring her questions, and walk out of the station. She follows, and now she's silent, having given up on trying to receive answers, answers that I can't even give to myself.

We pass through the arch that leads into the graveyard, rain hitting our umbrellas.

"What's the deal? Why is this so urgent?" Uo asks in an irritated tone as we walk. "Can't we come here tomorrow with Tohru?"

My eyes are searching-for what, I'm not quite sure. "There's just something…" I murmur, and don't finish.

Uo sighs. "Vibes, huh? Well, that's OK. Kyoko-san will be surprised, won't she?" I sense Tohru's vibes, and stop in mid stride. My eyes find her, a huddled figure at the base of her mother's gravestone. Rain has drenched her clothing; her shoes are missing. A great despair, filled with fear, radiates from her, slamming into me with a force that causes me to catch my breath. Beside me, Uo is still talking. "I mean, really, in the middle of the night like this-." She freezes-she, too, sees Tohru. "Tohru?"

The umbrella I am holding slips from my fingers, falls into the mud. I realize I am running towards Tohru, but the intense vibes around her causes me to stop, my eyes wide. Again, I see the glowing red eyes, the fangs…Uo is behind me, passes me; stops just short of where Tohru lies, huddled. "What are you doing!?" Uo demands. "You're soaked to the skin!"

Tohru raises her head. Tears are falling from her dark eyes. She looks at us, as if trying to remember who we are. "Uo-chan…Hana-chan…" She says softly.

"What happened to you!?"

"I can't go back. I'm not fit to go back…I never was…" Her face disappears into the crook of her arm; her voice is muffled. "I wasn't fit to be staying there…not me…"

Uo is exasperated, trying to figure out what she's talking about. The air crackles around me, whispering to me that she has just undergone a great ordeal. "Tohru?" Uo moves forward, reaching out her arms to scoop our friend into a hug, or to shake some sense into her. "Get a hold of yourself-"

_Stop her!_ The vibes whisper.

"Don't!!" I find myself colliding with Uo, shoving her away. We both hit the ground-Uo lands on her side, I fall on my knees and hands. Mud collects around my hands, soaks through my cloak and reaches my skirt.

Uo's shrill voice cries, "What are you doing, Hanajima!?"

My voice responds, "You can't embrace Tohru-kun right now! That's what my vibes are telling me!"

"What are you talking about?" Uo doesn't understand, she can't understand. I don't fully understand.

I can feel the electricity around me, feel lightening in the stormy sky just waiting to take its chance to appear. It whispers in my ear, speaks through me. "Go on, Tohru-kun…to the place where you need to go. You must go there!"

She is behind me, but I can feel her movements, I know that she understands what I'm saying, though I don't understand my self. "I can't go." She says. "I just can't go!"

"Get up." The sternness in my voice surprises me, and I don't know if I'm talking to her, or to me as well. "Come on, get up!" I push myself to my feet. My wet hair slaps my face, stinging; my hands and knees are wet, sore. All of this I push out of my mind. My body yearns to go to Tohru, to hold her, tell her that everything will be fine. My heart tells me that if I follow through with it, than nothing will be accomplished.

"I can't go!" Tohru cries over the sound of wind and rain.

"Stop it, Hanajima!" Uo says with the tone of voice she used while in her days of being in a gang. She is glaring at me, and her gaze shifts to Tohru. "Tohru, get a hold of yourself-" She is moving towards Tohru again. I move again, so fast it surprises me, and slam into her. We both fall again, and I feel my knees scrape the concrete, feel the flesh tearing. I struggle to stand, Uo is already on her feet, her face filled with rage. "Why, you-!"

My attention is on Tohru. "Stand up!" I command.

"Hanajima!" Uo warns, once again moving to Tohru. I block her, using my body as a shield. I feel her anger, her confusion, her concern for our friend. She is powerful. My feet slip in the mud; her hands are on my shoulders. "What're you doing!?" She yells at me. "Let me go! Tohru-"

"Get up!" I yell, turning my head to view Tohru out of the corner of my eye. "Quickly! There's something for you to do that only you can do!" I see her eyes widen, look into mine. The look confirms what I'm saying. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Tears of frustration flow from Uo's eyes. "What do you mean!?" She cries, voice hoarse. "Hanajima!"

My grip on Uo tightens. "There's something that none of us can do anything about." I say to her softly, and look again Tohru. "All we can do is make you go! So hurry up and go!" Tears are threatening, holding away Uo is sapping my strength. My voice raises to a hysterical scream as the tears overflow. "GO!!"

My face is buried in Uo's shirt, but I can feel Tohru slowly getting to her feet. She hesitates, one hand clasped to her arm, her feet slippery in the mud. Her face turns to the north, her eyes seeing something that only she can see. Another vision, the red eyes, the fangs, a long, lanky body that isn't human…and yet…

"Tohru?" Uo whispers, her struggling fading. "Tohru…" She pushes me aside, takes a step forward and falters. Her confusion about what just took place is overwhelming. Above us, the clouds open up and unveil a driving rain that causes me to fall to my knees.

"How come?" Uo whispers after Tohru's retreating figure. I sense she's asking me, but can't reply. Her voice raises to a scream. "How come!!?"

Yes, how come? What was the purpose?

Tears are pouring down my face, my entire body is shaking uncontrollably. The vibes around me are telling me that I have done the right thing, yet I am uncertain as to what I have just done.

Red eyes, fangs…a body that isn't human, yet a spirit accompanying it that is. The vibes one gets when one is around a cat…orange hair, red eyes…

Kyou… 

I understand now. I understand what Tohru meant when she said she didn't fit in there, at the Sohma house. The vibes I had always felt around the Sohma's, the reason why they never let anyone get near them…now I know. Their secret is unveiled to me, and it is secret I will keep, even from Tohru.

_She will save him._ The air crackles. _She must save him._

I have faith in you, Tohru-chan. You saved me. You saved Uo. You will save Kyou, and tomorrow, the sun will rise to greet you.

"Hanajima, I don't understand." Uo was saying softly, her voice cracking. "What the hell is going on? Why wouldn't you let me help her? Why wouldn't…" She chokes, looks away.

I raise my head, eyes shining with tears. A soft smile spreads across my face. "We have helped her, Arisa." I use her first name; she doesn't seem to notice. "Just watch. On Monday, she will be herself again, for the thing that she must do tonight will give her courage she never knew she had. She will never speak about this to either of us, but she will smile at us and that smile will confirm that everything is all right."

Uo stares at me, uncertain. She glances again in the direction Tohru went, and wipes her eyes. "Yeah." She mutters. "You're right." She extends a hand to me, helping me rise, then turns and bows to Kyoko's grave. "Still…" She murmurs. "If any of this has to do with that damn Kyou…" She makes a fist with her hand.

I smile. "No, Uo-kun. Don't speculate. Just have faith."

Shaking her head, Uo gives me one of her smiles. "You and your cryptic messages. Fine. Let's get out of this rain and go home."

"Yes. Let's."

That morning, the darkness broke.

A brilliant sun rose to take its place.


End file.
